Publication Type
Journal Article
Publication Date (Issue Year)
2026
Journal Name
Scientific African
Abstract
The agricultural landscape in Rivers State, Nigeria, is increasingly threatened by the dual challenges of escalating flooding events and return migration. Historically, flooding in the region has shifted from isolated incidents to a persistent and widespread hazard, significantly disrupting agricultural livelihoods and rural stability. This study assessed the effects of flooding-induced migration on the food security status of farming households in Nigeria. Data were collected on the episodes that occurred between 2011–2022 to estimate the coping strategies of the farmers. The farm revenue specifically from 2022 production activities was also computed. This was used in estimating the effect of flooding-induced migration on food security (economic access to food). Farmers Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) was also computed and used to estimate the effect of migration on the farmers’ level of food security. Endogenous switching regression models were then estimated to identify the average treatment effects of flooding-induced migration on the treated (ATT) and untreated (ATU). Result showed that migrants’ mean HFIAS was 13.4675 while that of the non-migrants was 2.1598, depicting that migrants are more food insecure when compared with the non-migrants. The ATT result showed a significant mean difference of 9.17 while the ATU showed a significant and negative value of 11.59. This means that flooding problems and on the other hand flooding-induced migration, increases food insecurity. It also means that if the migrants were not faced with flooding issues which led to migration, their food insecurity would have reduced by 11.59. Finally, the result on average farm revenue showed the migrant’s mean farm revenue per head was 54,509.34 naira while that of non-migrants was 183,153.6 naira (USD 128.9 and USD 433 respectively). This shows that households who are not faced with flooding who also do not migrate, have more revenue. It is recommended that government and stakeholder should initiate and execute projects meant to curb flood in these communities. Farmers can be given grants and credits to assist with coping after flooding episodes. Non-farm income generating activities is also advised for income diversification. With more income, they will be empowered to access more food and this will improve their HFIAS
Keywords
Flooding, Migration, Household, Food insecurity, Farm revenue Effect
Rsif Scholar Name
Jacinta Nmutaka Umechukwu
Thematic Area
Food security and Agribusiness
Africa Host University (AHU)
University of Ghana (UoG), Ghana
Funding Statement
This study was funded by the Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology/Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (PASET-RSIF) through the award of a PhD scholarship to the lead author. This study emanates from two of the objectives of the PhD thesis. The findings and conclusions in this publication are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent PASET-RSIF.
Recommended Citation
Umechukwu, J. N., Sarpong, D. B., Ahene-Codjoe, A., & Kim, T. (2026). Effects of flooding-induced migration on the food security status of farming households in Rivers State, Nigeria. Scientific African https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2026.e03559